


manalo

by mossring



Series: one, two, three [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Alola-chihou | Alola Region (Pokemon), Belonging, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Isolation, Manalo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26154844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mossring/pseuds/mossring
Summary: Alola is Ash's home. These people are his family. He can see that now, as clear as day. (He always thought Ash was energetic anywhere he went, but now Goh sees he was wrong. In Alola, Ash isalive.He lives and breathes Alola everywhere he goes, and the people here lean into him like he's the sun, and Goh is left as a shadow to their light, unseen, unheard, forgotten.)
Relationships: Gou | Goh & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Gou | Goh/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Mao | Mallow & Suiren | Lana & Kaki | Kiawe & Maamane | Sophocles
Series: one, two, three [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899298
Comments: 12
Kudos: 121





	manalo

**Author's Note:**

> a very short, very simplified one shot of what i imagine will go down when they go to alola. (alola episode let's go!!!) i couldve written more detailed and beautifully but sometimes simple is beautiful too, and i think simple is the best way to go here. also i'm busy and lazy. yep. enjoy!

When Ash reunites with Mallow, Kiawe, Lana, Sophocles, Kukui and Burnet, they’re all smiles and laughter and warm familiarity, arms around one another. 

Goh stands in one corner, arms wrapped around himself, unsure, self-conscious, and a funny feeling in his throat he can only call loneliness—or is it jealousy? Whatever it is, it’s strange, but not unfamiliar. 

(This feeling has lingered in him since he was a small child, when his parents were at work and he’s a lone figure hunched before six screens, eyes straining against their glaring light, searching for the ghost of a sign that will never show. It has lingered in him since Tokio left him standing in the rain that never seemed to stop falling.) 

After Ash, he thought that feeling had long vanished—but now, it has resurfaced from the murky depths of his mind like a dead body clambering out of its grave. After Ash, he thought he would never be lonely again—but he never really considered Ash _leaving_. That one day, Goh would wake up and look down to the bed below and it would be empty.

Alola is Ash's home. These people are his family. He can see that now, as clear as day. (He always thought Ash was energetic anywhere he went, but now Goh sees he was wrong. In Alola, Ash is _alive_. He lives and breathes Alola everywhere he goes, and the people here lean into him like he’s the sun, and Goh is left as a shadow to their light, unseen, unheard, forgotten.)

Lurking in a dim corner of the brightly-lit living room, he feels a little bit like Raboot. Together, the duo sulk in silence while the rest exchange inside jokes. (He thought he was close to Ash, but it’s becoming clearer each passing second that he knows very little about Ash: where he’s been, who he’s met, what he's done... who he is.)

“Goh?”

Blearily, he looks up—and the light almost blinds him. Ash is hovering over him, peering at him with an expression so concerned it made Goh’s heart hurt. Sophocles, Mallow, Lana and Kiawe linger behind him, smiling down at him. Then he blinks as Ash extends a hand to him. Open. Willing. Welcoming.

Goh puts his hand into Ash’s, and Ash pulls him up, holds him close. He’s ushered to the sofa before the TV, where they share fruits and snacks with him and chat breezily. 

_“Manalo_ ,” Ash says suddenly, and Goh turns to look at him. He smiles at Goh, as bright and warm as the Alolan sun. “That means ‘you and I are living here together’. It means to share!”

“It means no one is left behind,” adds Mallow, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It means we are all one big family.”

“Ash has told us so much about you!” Lana pipes in with a wink. 

“You’re one of us now,” agrees Sophocles, and Goh feels hot tears well up in his eyes. He feels someone take his hands, and he looks up to see Ash smiling gently at him.

“Hey, why are you crying?” he whispers. Goh stills as a finger reaches up to wipe a stray tear on his cheek. 

Face red and stuttering, he explains as best as he can. Mallow’s face shifts into something of understanding, but there is no pity.

“You’re not alone anymore, Goh,” says Ash, and before he knows it, he’s pulled into a hug, his chin pressed against Ash’s shoulder and Ash’s arms around him. He soaks in the smell of Ash, his warmth. It only lasts a second before Mallow, Lana, Kiawe and Sophocles join in and make it a group hug. Unbidden, tears spring to Goh’s eyes again. He’s never been part of a group hug before.

 _“Manalo_.” He says the word over and over again, rolling it on his tongue until he feels it sink into his bones, new but oddly familiar at the same time. It wraps itself around loneliness until there is nothing left but warmth, and _manalo_ , and he can’t get enough of the feeling.

They stay like that for a little while more. Then the local channel starts its broadcast of a Pokébase match, and they scramble to the TV, shouting and cheering. As he watches the Pokébase players race across the pitch with all their life, Goh feels a smile grace his lips, wide and genuine. It’s not exactly a computer screen to track Mew’s sightings, but he likes it all the same. (He may even like it better.)

The golden light of the sunset streaming through the glass windows fades into a deep blue night, quiet and peaceful, but inside, the house remains as lively and cheerful as ever, and mid-laugh, Goh thinks to himself, _Maybe I can get used to this._


End file.
